5 things you need to know Wednesday

May 7, 2014
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Early morning voters hold up their identification documents as they queue to vote at a polling station that was burned down overnight in the politically-sensitive mining town of Bekkersdal, South Africa Wednesday. / Ben Curtis, AP

by Editors, USA TODAY

by Editors, USA TODAY

South Africans headed to the polls Wednesday in the country's first general elections since the death of Nelson Mandela, and the first in which voters born after the fall of apartheid are old enough to take part. Many of these young voters say they won't participate in the ballot.

Obama tours Arkansas tornado damage

President Obama travels to Arkansas to view the rebuilding after last month's deadly tornadoes that killed 15 people in the state. Obama declared a major disaster area in Arkansas and provided federal help. The Wednesday trip will be Obama's first visit to Arkansas as president. He then heads to Los Angeles for a Democratic fundraiser and to be honored at a dinner by the USC Shoah Foundation.

Investors focus on Fed Chair Yellen's Congressional testimony

When Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen speaks today before the Joint Economic Committee of Congress, the markets will listen for hints of changes the Fed could make. Wall Street investors worry that the Fed could start hiking short-term interest rates, sooner and more aggressively than believed, because of last week's better-than-expected jobs numbers.

Primary season gets into full swing

Thom Tillis won the GOP Senate nomination in North Carolina. The North Carolina Senate race was the first primary contest pitting the Tea Party and grass-roots conservatives vs. mainstream Republicans. The skirmishes will continue in coming weeks as Georgia, Kentucky, Idaho and Mississippi voters go to the polls to pick Republican nominees for Congress. Singer Clay Aiken was clinging to a slim lead early Wednesday in his bid to become a Democratic nominee for Congress in North Carolina.

Thai PM forced to resign over abuse of power

Thailand's Constitutional Court ordered Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to step down after finding her guilty in an abuse of power case, pushing the country deeper into political turmoil.

Hibbert can return to form after being held scoreless for the third game in his past four postseason outings - making him the first All-Star in NBA history to achieve such distinction. The Clippers look to continue winning on the court, despite the off-court media circus surrounding racist comments allegedly made by Donald Sterling, and go up two games to none over Oklahoma City.